I had that exact same Star D tripod (its a Tiltall copy! the new Tiltalls are"nt good anymore/different company)That was a great tripod,got mine used from a co worker for $20. back in '86,87 and it finally crapped out about 3 years ago.Wish i still had it!I also have a Cullman traveler? its smaller & light weight for landscapes or macro. then I have the monster Bogen 3047 W/ 3046 pan/tilt head wich was more of a studio tripod Had it since 1985,bought it from my old photo instructor for about $60. Still going strong! But thinking of replacing my Star D with either an Induro or a Manfrotto 055x pro b. Any suggestions?

So the next time you have your new D-4 ( with 400mm / f 2.8 tele lens attached ) sitting on a tripod, mounted on an L-plate, ask yourself, "how sure am I of what kind of material that "bargain" L plate from "where ever" is made from the proper, high strength alloy that good old RRS (and other U.S. companies) use in THEIR L-plates" ?

In other words, when it comes to L-plates, you get what you pay for............

Now...........if you want "the best", and have unlimited patience.............you don't "always" have to fork out $ 150 for a RRS L-plate; I very recently bought the one on my D-300s on eBay for $80 (+ $10 shipping) They rarely go for less than $100.........(but that's where the patience is required).

Mmmm.... the "L" plate I am using was forged and machined from one piece...a complete knock off of the RRS as best I can tell. However, I do appreciate the suggestion of purchasing one used on eBay or other used market place. I will do a search for this and see if it is possible to find a D4 RRS L plate for my camera.

I would suggest, a 400mm and D4 on a tripod would be mounted by the lens mount in most circumstances.

And, whenever the camera is mounted on a tripod, monopod, and in a precarious location, such as overhead, it always has a tether on it in case of mounting failure.

Take a VERY close look at one; essentially two quick release plates that are at 90 degrees to each other; now take a very close look at the two rather small "connecting" pieces of aluminum that hold them together.

The L plate fastens to the camera body with one "captive" 1/4"-20 machine screw in the bottom QR plate..........but the "end" plate, the one used for portrait format, has nothing holding it.........except that that same small machine screw, and those two small connecting pieces; ( and it's holding a camera body that may cost up tp 8K or so, plus a lens that may even be worth more than the camera ); so obviously, L-plates MUST be VERY strong ! And they are; I can only speak for Really Right Stuff plates, as they are all I use for the most part, and I'm very familiar with the company that makes them.

The old "saying"........"you usually get what you pay for".........for any RRS product, you pay a premium price in order to get a premium product. Now.......to make a flat "bottom" Q. R. plate, it only requires a short length of aircraft grade aluminum alloy, and a bit of machining on a CNC machine. Aircraft grade aluminum costs "considerably" more than, say, the aluminum in your lawn chairs.

To make an L-plate, they start out with a large, solid block of that same high grade aircraft aluminum alloy, and the same CNC machine turns about 95% of the block into "shavings"; I might add, where a flat plate might only require 10 or 15 minutes of machining, ( by a machine that costs maybe 100 K ), the same machine may require an hour (or more), to machine away 95% of that block of expensive metal in the process of turning it into an L-plate.

Here's something else to think about; any one intimately familiar with the aircraft industry can tell you, that there have been more than a few fatal airline disasters that were found to have been caused by "counterfeit" fasteners, made from sub-stardard material, which "failed", causing planes to crash and passengers to perish. I don't wish to "call names" or "name" sources, but NONE of these sub standard fasteners ( bolts, rivets, etc ), were manufactured in the U.S.

So the next time you have your new D-4 ( with 400mm / f 2.8 tele lens attached ) sitting on a tripod, mounted on an L-plate, ask yourself, "how sure am I of what kind of material that "bargain" L plate from "where ever" is made from the proper, high strength alloy that good old RRS (and other U.S. companies) use in THEIR L-plates" ?

In other words, when it comes to L-plates, you get what you pay for............

Now...........if you want "the best", and have unlimited patience.............you don't "always" have to fork out $ 150 for a RRS L-plate; I very recently bought the one on my D-300s on eBay for $80 (+ $10 shipping) They rarely go for less than $100.........(but that's where the patience is required).

spraynpray said:
I reckon you are still young NSX - for those of us who have got to the stage where we struggle to hold a camera still, our tripod is our friend!

I used to be able to pan a 200 at 1/60th - not anymore!

@ Paul: My Slik goes to 6ft without using the centre column then if I do it goes on to about 7ft6".

£80 on eBay...

Haha, I hope I stay that way!

But honestly, my style of shooting doesn't jive well with tripods. I take photos of children, usually at family gatherings, street photography, cars, and a lot of times flowers and bugs in my garden. I don't do much of long exposure or landscape photography, so I'm lucky in that sense.

Children move much too fast for a long 105mm macro, and unless I'm taking family portraits, I don't really need a tripod.

I have now found my monopod a more easily usable piece. There are a few times I wish I had my tripod when I didn't bring it, but it is always low light for long exposures. Plus those types of shots take a while to setup and shoot so I don't do them often. I obviously haven't had enough cases of not having it to warrant always having it :)

Good to hear that you don't use it on your cheap tripod, because I would never use or trust the 105mm on my cheapo $20 tripod either. It barely is stable enough to carry a D40 with my 18-135.

The investment for a tripod is a bit steep for me in comparison to the amount I would actually use it. I feel like I could more out of a D7000 for the sheer ISO performance- at ISO 800 that's really maxing out on the D40, any higher is really no good.

I agree about the weight and the idea of the money. I thought about having a 1/4" x 1" aluminum bar bent into a 90° angle, then adding a Manfrotto plate to each side. It would work nearly as well, unless one wanted the access to the connections on the end, and also, charging the battery.....

But, when using the PC Nikkor, having the camera balanced on top of the tripod as opposed to off to the side, it just makes it easier to be stable, especially when on uneven ground.

I am not concerned about camera weight issues, mainly because I do not carry things that far... no hiking at my age...

And, the cash cow....could be, but with the machining they do on the L-plates...seems to be a large amount of work. My stuff is from Sunwayfoto purchased at B & H. They appear to be very well done products, for about 1/3rd less than RRS.

The added weight, and size are why I'm not rushing out to get an L-Bracket. I like the concept, and the use in practice. For me the extra $100-150 is hard to justify, there isn't that much more metal used to make the L-bracket over the normal plates. To me the L-Brackets are the Acra-Swiss compatible plate makers cash cow.

Enjoying the L-bracket are you? I don't have one, I find them to be too expensive and bulky for the limited use it would get. I just use standard (camera or lens specific) Arca-Swiss compatible base plates.

I would have never obtained my Paris night shots if I didn't have a tripod. I always felt so bad for the people that came along side of me at the Tour Montparnasse without a tripod. They tried to rest their camera on the railing and even that doesn't compare. Even though a tripod is a pain to carry around, invest in one that is lightweight and know when you need it.

I have now found my monopod a more easily usable piece. There are a few times I wish I had my tripod when I didn't bring it, but it is always low light for long exposures. Plus those types of shots take a while to setup and shoot so I don't do them often. I obviously haven't had enough cases of not having it to warrant always having it :)

We are a very diverse group. Some of us have used tripods, actually camera stands, about 10 feet tall. And others are strictly hand hold folks. No one is right or wrong. Like whether one likes a motorcycle or a dually. Love the variety on the forum.

tcole1983 said:
I have a pretty inexpensive tripod that was purchased from best buy, but I really haven't ever had a problem. I just used it last weekend and it worked wonderfully. It is pretty light weight and after handling my friends manfroto one a couple times while we were out it made me glad to have mine.

I do have a manfroto monopod though.

Have you used that tripod with your 105mm macro Nikkor?

I don't own a tripod because I know I wouldn't use it. It's a big cumbersome piece of equipment that would probably slow me down.

I know that it's a necessary piece of equipment, but for most of what I do I don't need it.

Well, for those who may have a desire to change from one type of quick release to an ARCA Swiss style, i can say it is possible. Of course, not for the faint of heart...and one must have a drill press, proper drills, countersink, adequate clamps for the press, and a strong desire to be very careful and measure properly.

I switched out the RC-2 clamp on a Manfrotto 466MGRC2 Ball Head, and replaced it with a Sunwayfoto DLC-60. Works very nicely and the Sunwayfoto clamp appears to be very well made. We will see. Of course one has to attach the ARCA Swiss plates onto everything, lenses, etc. but the big advantage is that nom, instead of two tripods using RC-5 plates and two using RC-2 clamps, all now use the same style clamp which makes it easier to interchange the tripods with the big lenses and smaller camera/ lens combinations. And, I have now a collection of RC-2 and RC-5 mounting clamps which I will dispose of at some point.

This switch was precipitated by a new gimbal mount by Induro which has the ARCA Swiss mount.

This post is just for information purposes in case someone wants to switch to ARCA Swiss which are IMO much better overall.

I totally agree tcole1983, I bought a Manfrotto 055XPROB with ball head a couple of years ago, and can probably count on one hand the number of times I have used it for the reasons you cite. I much prefer my monopod on the few occasions that support is needed. I do however find my small and relatively cheap Manfrotto MK393-PD legs, excellent to mount my SB900's on when using Pocket Wizards.

I don't really use my tripod all that often...long exposures is really the only time and I don't do a whole lot of those usually. Now with my monopod I have the plate on my 300 F4 most of the time. I don't care for my tripod when stuff is moving so it doesn't do me much good for what I shoot. Also for landscapes I can typically hand hold or use the monopod with pretty good success.

I feel like tripods are such a hassle for the most part. One the weight and two the nuisance of well spreading the legs and extending them all the time. Inside they are really cumbersome and not all that usable. I don't mind standing with my "stick", but wouldn't ever feel comfortable with the tripod out especially with other people around.

Thanks, Gitzo...I for one forget about eBay as a result of some interactions in the past with dishonest sellers. But, the idea of getting some of the accessories, like the ARCA Swiss plates...and other smaller stuff, thanks...